Four Incredible Facts You Didn’t Know About Oregon Humane Society

Here's what eight Jamanians found out during their Volunteer Time Off

Travis Chapman | October 14, 2016

A couple of weeks ago, a group of us took a trip to Northeast Portland to volunteer for the Oregon Humane Society.

Upon arrival, they gave us a quick orientation and went over some safety protocols, but also gave us a great history of the humane society. In case you’re a numbers/facts person, here is some cool trivia that you may have not known before…

1. OHS is the third oldest humane society in the nation, and the oldest in the west.

2. OHS is a nonprofit, receives NO tax dollars, and is comprised of 140 full-time employees that are aided by about 2,000 volunteers.

3. OHS finds homes for around 11,000 pets each year, which is one of the highest adoption rates in the country.

4. OHS never puts a time limit on how long pets remain available for adoption and NEVER euthanizes for space purposes.

To add to the adoption rates, OHS adopts out so many animals they pull them from overpopulated shelters to adopt out. This program partners with several shelters on the west coast including several shelters in LA. They drive down there almost every Tuesday. I’m pretty sure that’s where most of Portland’s Chihuahua population comes from.

They also have a kickass investigations crew that takes on cases most organizations won’t. Such as rescuing 245 birds, several of which have the intelligence of a 4 year old, the voice of a jet engine and the bite strength of a nut cracker. In other words, OHS and Portland in general have an awesome adoption rate that allows them to help shelters not only in the Portland metro area, but across several states.

The actual facility is amazing, comprising of their own veterinary clinic, a pet store, training classes, outside running areas, and of course the viewing rooms. After getting a tour of the space, they put all of us to work getting as much love to the animals as possible.

I would definitely recommend volunteering here to anybody. The facility was extremely clean, organized, and well structured, and we all had a ton of fun.